J. K. Rowling

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 29, 2014

Harlan Coben reviews book The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling). MORE

Jun. 19, 2014

Book retailers are looking to exploit dispute between Amazon and Hachette Book Group by taking advantage of Amazon's removal of pre-order buttons for several Hachette titles, including The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith, pseudonym for J K Rowling; book is expected to be summer blockbuster. MORE

Jun. 16, 2014

Michiko Kakutani reviews book The Silkworm by J K Rowling, written under pseudonym Robert Galbraith. MORE

Feb. 19, 2014

Second novel called The Silkworm written by J K Rowling, but released under pseudonym Robert Galbraith, is set for release on June 24. MORE

Jan. 2, 2014

The lawyer, Chris Gossage, was fined and rebuked for breaking client confidentiality rules. MORE

Dec. 20, 2013

A new play set for the West End will focus on the character’s early years as an orphan. MORE

Sep. 13, 2013

Warner Brothers concludes deal with J K Rowling that will include new movies, distribution rights to a television mini-series and new theme park attractions; studio made billions from film adaptation of Rowling's Harry Potter series. MORE

Aug. 31, 2013

James B Stewart Common Sense column on book The Cuckoo's Calling; book, written under pseudonym by best-selling author J K Rowling, became success only after her identity was revealed; questions what that means for newly-published authors. MORE

Aug. 1, 2013

Russells, London law firm responsible for revealing that J K Rowling is author of detective novel The Cuckoo’s Calling, has agreed to make substantial donation to charity as part of an apology. MORE

Jul. 27, 2013

Jul. 25, 2013

Bestselling author J K Rowling, in an lengthy post on Web site devoted to her pseudonym Robert K Galbraith, shares a bit of the back story as to why she published mystery novel The Cuckoo's Calling under a different name. MORE

Jul. 19, 2013

London law firm Russells says that one of its partners, Chris Gossage, had told his wife's best friend that little-read detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling, by debut author Robert Galbraith, was actually written by J K Rowling. MORE

Jul. 18, 2013

Michiko Kakutani reviews book The Cuckoo's Calling, written by J K Rowling under pseudonym Robert Galbraith. MORE

Jul. 17, 2013

Sales of novel The Cuckoo's Calling skyrocket after author J K Rowling admits to writing book under pseudonym Robert Galbraith, leaving many wondering whether revelation was publicity stunt. MORE

Jul. 15, 2013

Book The Cuckoo's Calling, attributed to former military police investigator named Robert Galbraith, received rave reviews from readers who said it seemed too self-assured and sophisticated for first novel; book has been revealed to be work of Harry Potter author J K Rowling. MORE

The Arts/Cultural Desk

J. K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, insists that she does not regard herself as a celebrity. But the assertion rings a little hollow when you are traveling in a style once reserved for royalty, in a personal train full of plush and brocade, crisscrossing Britain. Of course this train -- the Hogwarts Express, named for the train that takes Ms. Rowling's blockbuster creation to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in all four Harry Potter books -- is the centerpiece of a publicity stunt timed to celebrate and feed the frenzy stirred by the latest in the series, ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,'' published to great hullabaloo today. And the apparent luxury -- dining car resplendent with white linen and crystal, sleeping car for Ms. Rowling and the entourage from Bloomsbury, her British publisher -- is not quite the magical ride of the novels.

Recent research suggests that the impact of the “Harry Potter” series may be far more significant than a shared cultural experience and a rich vocabulary of spells. Is it possible that reading Harry Potter makes us better people?

Students who read and discussed a scene from Harry Potter in which the cruel Draco Malfoy calls Hermione a “filthy little Mudblood,” and her friends react with outrage reported more positive feelings about immigrants.

It is not immediately clear that "Goblet of Fire" is a step forward for the series, since it gets off to a shaky opening, but the book ends with Ms. Rowling's most lucid, well-plotted and exciting conclusion.